Wearable device and execution of application in wearable device

ABSTRACT

A method of executing an application in a wearable device and a wearable device are disclosed, the method including receiving an input requesting execution of a first application, acquiring time information required to execute the first application in response to the input, and scrolling and displaying a predetermined image in a first direction until the execution of the first application based on the time information.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No.14/875,902, filed on Oct. 6, 2015, which is based on and claims priorityunder 35 U.S.C. § 119 to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2014-0140168,filed on Oct. 16, 2014, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office. Thedisclosure of each of these applications is incorporated by referenceherein in its entirety.

BACKGROUND 1. Field

The disclosure relates, for example, to a method of executing anapplication in a wearable device and a wearable device for the same.

2. Description of Related Art

A wearable device is generally a device capable of performing acomputing activity by being attached to the human body and also includessome applications capable of performing a computing function.

Wearable devices have been gradually evolving with respect to the factthat new services which cannot be provided by existing devices may beprovided with a computer close to a user. The wearable devices startedto be used in the military and industry fields in the early 1990s andhave been commercialized in the forms of a watch, an accessory, and thelike applicable to the everyday life through a combination with a smartdevice since 2000.

Since wearable devices have been mainly developed for the specificpurposes such as military, medical treatment, and the like for a longtime, convenient interfaces for general users have been insufficientlyprovided.

Therefore, a system capable of providing a convenient and intuitive userinterface and an improved user experience in a wearable device needs tobe introduced.

SUMMARY

According to an aspect of an example embodiment, a method of executingan application in a wearable device includes: receiving an input forrequesting execution of a first application; acquiring time informationrequired to execute the first application in response to the input; andscrolling and displaying a predetermined image in a first directionuntil the execution of the first application based on the timeinformation.

The input for requesting execution of the first application may includea drag input in the first direction.

The method may further include: providing an application list includingidentification information of at least one application; selecting thefirst application from the application list based on an input (e.g., adrag input) in a second direction that is different from the firstdirection; and displaying identification information of the selectedfirst application.

Providing the application list may include changing an arrangement orderof the identification information of the at least one applicationincluded in the application list based on a user input.

The scrolling and displaying of the predetermined image in the firstdirection may include displaying an execution window of the firstapplication next to the predetermined image based on the timeinformation.

The method may further include: receiving an application switch inputwhile displaying the execution window of the first application;selecting a second application adjacent in an order to theidentification information of the first application and being executedfrom the application list based on the application switch input; anddisplaying an execution window of the second application.

Acquiring the time information may include acquiring the timeinformation based on at least one of the performance of the wearabledevice, a load of the wearable device, and a load of the firstapplication.

The scrolling and displaying of the predetermined image in the firstdirection may include adjusting a scroll speed in the first directionbased on the time information if a length of the predetermined image ispre-defined.

The method may further include: receiving an input (e.g., a drag input)in a third direction that is different from the first direction whiledisplaying the execution window of the first application; and displayinga previous image displayed before the execution of the first applicationbased on the drag input in the third direction.

According to another example, a wearable device includes: a userinterface configured to receive an input for requesting execution of afirst application; a controller configured to acquire time informationrequired to execute the first application in response to the input; anda display configured to scroll and display a predetermined image in afirst direction until execution of the first application based on thetime information.

The input for requesting execution of the first application may includea drag input in the first direction.

The controller may be configured to provide an application listincluding identification information of at least one application, theuser interface may be configured to receive a drag input in a seconddirection that is different from the first direction to select the firstapplication from the application list, and the display may be configuredto display identification information of the selected first application.

The controller may be configured to change an arrangement order of theidentification information of the at least one application included inthe application list based on a user input.

The display may be configured to display an execution window of thefirst application next to the predetermined image based on the timeinformation.

The user interface may be configured to receive an application switchinput while displaying the execution window of the first application,the controller may be configured to select a second application adjacentin an order to the identification information of the first applicationand being executed from the application list based on the applicationswitch input, and the display may be configured to display an executionwindow of the second application.

The controller may be configured to acquire the time information basedon at least one of the performance of the wearable device, a load of thewearable device, and a load of the first application.

The controller may be configured to adjust a scroll speed in the firstdirection based on the time information if a length of the predeterminedimage is pre-defined.

The user interface may be configured to receive a drag input in a thirddirection that is different from the first direction while the displaydisplays the execution window of the first application, and the displaymay be configured to display a previous image displayed before theexecution of the first application based on the drag input in the thirddirection.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and/or other aspects will become apparent and more readilyappreciated from the following detailed description, taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings in which like referencenumerals refer to like elements, and wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates an example execution operation of an application in awearable device;

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an example method of executing anapplication in a wearable device;

FIGS. 3A and 3B illustrate examples in which a wearable device executesan application;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an example method of selecting anapplication in a wearable device;

FIGS. 5A and 5B illustrate an example application list provided by awearable device and an example of selecting an application in thewearable device;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example method of changing anarrangement order of identification information of applications includedin an application list in a wearable device;

FIGS. 7A to 7C illustrate an example editing window provided by awearable device and an example of an application list sorted in achanged order;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an example method of displaying anexecution window of an application in a wearable device;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart describing an example switch operation betweenapplications in a wearable device;

FIG. 10 illustrates an example of a switch between applications beingexecuted;

FIG. 11 illustrates an example of a switch between applications beingexecuted according to a change in an arrangement order of identificationinformation of the applications;

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an example method of adjusting ascroll speed of displaying a predetermined image in a wearable device;

FIGS. 13A to 13C illustrate an example of adjusting a scroll speed of apredetermined image in a wearable device;

FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating an example method of terminating anapplication in a wearable device;

FIG. 15 illustrates an example in which a wearable device terminates anapplication; and

FIGS. 16 and 17 are block diagrams illustrating an example wearabledevice.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Although general current terms have been used to describe the examplesbased on the functions in the example embodiments, the terms may varyaccording to the intention of one of ordinary skill in the art, caseprecedents, and the appearance of new technology. In addition, inspecific situations, terms selected by the applicant may be used, and inthese situations, the meaning of these terms will be disclosed incorresponding descriptions of the specification. Accordingly, the termsused in the specification to describe the examples are defined not bytheir simple names but by their meanings in the context of the examples.

In the disclosure, when a certain part “includes” a certain component,this indicates that the part may further include another componentinstead of excluding the other component unless there is differentdisclosure. In addition, a term such as “unit” or “module” disclosed inthe specification indicates a unit for processing at least one functionor operation, which may be implemented by hardware, software, or acombination thereof.

In addition, in the disclosure, although terms, such as ‘first’ and‘second’, may be used to describe various elements, the elements are notlimited by the terms. The terms can be used to classify a certainelement from another element. For example, a first element can be nameda second element without departing from the scope of the examples, andsimilarly the second element can be named the first element.

In addition, in the disclosure, the term “application” indicates, forexample, a series of computer program sets designed to perform aspecific task. Various applications may be described in thespecification. For example, the applications may include a gameapplication, a video replay application, a map application, a memoapplication, a schedule management application, a phonebook application,a broadcast application, an exercise support application, a paymentapplication, a photograph application, and the like but are not limitedthereto.

In addition, in the disclosure, the term “identification information ofan application” may, for example, be unique information fordiscriminating the application from the other applications, and theidentification information of the application may include at least oneof an image, a text, and a video. For example, the identificationinformation of the application may include an icon, an index item, linkinformation, a replayed image of content, and the like.

Reference will now be made in detail to examples, which are illustratedin the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer tolike elements throughout. In this regard, the examples may havedifferent forms and should not be construed as being limited to thedescriptions set forth herein. In the drawings, parts irrelevant to thedescription are omitted to more clearly describe the example.Accordingly, the examples are described below, by referring to thefigures, to explain aspects thereof.

As used herein, expressions such as “at least one of,” when preceding alist of elements, modify the entire list of elements and do notnecessarily modify the individual elements of the list.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example execution operation of an application in awearable device 100.

As shown in FIG. 1, the wearable device 100 may indicate a device usableby a user by wearing the device as if, for example, the device were aportion of the human body. According to an example, the wearable device100 may be implemented in various forms. For example, the wearabledevice 100 may be a smart watch 100-1, a smart band 100-2, a helmetmounted display (HMD) device 100-3, clothes, or the like but is notlimited thereto.

According to an example, the wearable device 100 may include a userinterface configured to receive a user input. According to an example,the user input may, for example, include at least one of a touch input,a bending input, a motion input, a voice input, a key input, and amultimodal input but is not limited thereto.

In the disclosure, the term “touch input” indicates a gesture or thelike performed by the user on a touch screen to control the wearabledevice 100. In addition, in the disclosure, the term “touch input” mayinclude a touch in a state of being spaced apart by a predetermineddistance or more from a touch screen without physically touching thetouch screen (for example, floating or hovering).

For example, types of a touch input described in the disclosure may be adrag, a flick, a tap, a double tap, and the like.

The term “drag” indicates an operation in which, for example, the usertouches a screen by using a finger or a touch tool and then moves thefinger or the touch tool to another location on the screen in a state ofmaintaining the touch.

The term “tap” indicates an operation in which, for example, the usertouches a screen by using a finger or a touch tool (e.g., an electronicpen) and then immediately lifts the finger or the touch tool from thescreen without moving.

The term “double tap” indicates an operation in which, for example, theuser touches a screen twice by using a finger or a touch tool (e.g., astylus).

The term “flick” indicates a drag operation at a critical speed or more,which is performed, for example, by the user using a finger or a touchtool. A drag and a flick may be discriminated from each other based onwhether a moving speed of the finger or the touch tool is the criticalspeed or more, but in the disclosure, the term “flick” is included inthe term “drag”.

The term “swipe” indicates an operation, for example, of moving a fingeror a touch tool by a predetermined distance in a left/right or up/downdirection in a state of touching a predetermined region on a screen byusing the finger or the touch tool. A motion in a diagonal direction maynot be recognized as a swipe event. In the disclosure the term “swipe”is included in the term “drag”.

The term “touch and hold” indicates an operation, for example, in whichthe user touches a screen by using a finger or a touch tool (e.g., astylus) and then maintains the touch input for a critical time or more.That is, a time difference between a touch-in time point and a touch-outtime point is the critical time or more. In order for the user torecognize whether a touch input is a tap or a touch and hold, when thetouch input is maintained for the critical time or more, a visual orauditory feedback signal may be provided.

The term “drag and drop” indicates an operation, for example in whichthe user drags identification information of an application to apredetermined location on a screen and drops the identificationinformation of the application at the predetermined location by using afinger or a touch tool.

The term “motion input” may indicate a motion applied by the user to thewearable device 100 to control the wearable device 100. For example,types of a motion input may be an input of rotating the wearable device100 by the user, an input of tilting the wearable device 100 by theuser, and an input of vertically or horizontally moving the wearabledevice 100 by the user. The wearable device 100 may detect a motioninput preset by the user by using, for example, an acceleration sensor,a tilt sensor, a gyro sensor, a three-axis magnetic sensor, and thelike.

The term “bending input” indicates an input of bending the entire or apartial region of the wearable device 100 by the user to control thewearable device 100 if the wearable device 100 is a flexible device. Forexample, the wearable device 100 may detect a bending location (acoordinate value), a bending direction, a bending angle, a bendingspeed, the number of bending times, a bending operation occurrence timepoint, a bending operation maintaining time, and the like by using abending sensor.

The term “key input” indicates an input for controlling the wearabledevice 100 by the user by using a physical key attached to the wearabledevice 100.

The term “multimodal input” indicates a combination of at least twoinput schemes. For example, the wearable device 100 may receive a touchinput and a motion input of the user or a touch input and a voice inputof the user. Alternatively, the wearable device 100 may receive a touchinput and an eyeball input of the user. The eyeball input indicates aninput for controlling eye blinking, a gaze location, an eyeball movingspeed, or the like by the user to control the wearable device 100.

According to an example, the wearable device 100 may include acommunication unit for example in the form of communication circuitryconfigured to receive an application execution command from an externaldevice (not shown) connected to the wearable device 100.

The external device may, for example, be a cellular phone, a smartphone,a laptop computer, a tablet PC, an e-book terminal, a digital broadcastterminal, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a portable multimediaplayer (PMP), a navigation machine, an MP3 player, or the like but isnot limited thereto.

For example, the user may request the wearable device 100 to execute anapplication installed in the wearable device 100 through a cellularphone, a smartphone, a laptop computer, a tablet PC, a navigationmachine, or the like connected to the wearable device 100. The externaldevice may transmit an application execution command to the wearabledevice 100 by, for example, using short-distance communication (e.g.,Bluetooth, near-field communication (NFC), or Wi-Fi Direct (WFD)).

According to an example, the wearable device 100 may execute anapplication in response to a user input. The user input may be an inputfor requesting for execution of the application.

In addition, the wearable device 100 may execute an application of thewearable device 100 by receiving an execution command from the externaldevice connected to the wearable device 100.

According to an example, the wearable device 100 may provide anexecution waiting screen image by acquiring time information requireduntil execution of an application (hereinafter, for convenience ofdescription, referred to as “required time information”). The executionwaiting screen image may include a predetermined image. Thepredetermined image may include a gradation image or an imagepre-defined by the user.

According to an example, the wearable device 100 may acquire timeinformation required until execution of an application after receiving auser input by using the performance of the wearable device 100, a loadof the wearable device 100, a load of the application, and the like.

The wearable device 100 may display an execution waiting screen imagebased on acquired time information. For example, the wearable device 100may acquire first required time information (e.g., one second) untilexecution of a first application (e.g., a schedule managementapplication) and acquire second required time information (e.g., 2seconds) until execution of a second application (e.g., a cameraapplication). The wearable device 100 may provide an execution waitingscreen image for the first required time information (e.g., 1 second)until the execution of the first application or provide an executionwaiting screen image for the second required time information (e.g., 1second) until the execution of the second application. Therefore,according to an example, the wearable device 100 may provide anexecution waiting screen image corresponding to a launching time foreach application.

As such, the wearable device 100 may reduce a sensible waiting timewhich may be recognized by the user by providing an execution waitingscreen image for a time required to launch each application. Inaddition, the wearable device 100 may also provide a smooth applicationlaunching effect to the user by providing an execution waiting screenimage.

An application execution operation in the wearable device 100 and amethod of providing an execution waiting screen image will now bedescribed in detail with reference to FIG. 2.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an example method of executing anapplication in the wearable device 100.

In operation S210, the wearable device 100 may receive an inputrequesting execution of an application.

According to an example, the wearable device 100 may receive an inputrequesting execution of an application on a screen on whichidentification information of the application is displayed.

According to an example, the wearable device 100 may receive a draginput in a first direction on the screen on which identificationinformation of an application is displayed. For example, the firstdirection may be a direction orienting from a predetermined region of alower end of the screen of the wearable device 100 (e.g., a bezel regionin the lower end) to an upper end thereof. Alternatively, the firstdirection may be a direction orienting from a predetermined region ofthe upper end of the screen of the wearable device 100 (e.g., a bezelregion in the upper end) to the lower end thereof. Alternatively, thefirst direction may be a direction orienting from a predetermined regionof a left side (or a right side) of the screen of the wearable device100 to the right side (or the left side) thereof.

According to an example, the wearable device 100 may receive a draginput in the first direction on the screen on which identificationinformation of a plurality of applications are displayed. The wearabledevice 100 may divide the screen into regions respectively correspondingto the identification information of the plurality of applications anddetermine whether an input is received within a region corresponding tothe identification information of each application. If a drag input inthe first direction is received within a region including identificationinformation of the first application (e.g., the schedule managementapplication), the wearable device 100 may recognize the drag input as aninput for requesting for execution of the first application.

According to an example, the wearable device 100 may receive a motioninput of tilting or moving the wearable device 100 in the firstdirection as an input for requesting for execution of an application onthe screen on which identification information of the application isdisplayed.

According to an example, the wearable device 100 may receive a bendinginput of bending the wearable device 100 in the first direction as aninput for requesting for execution of an application on the screen onwhich identification information of the application is displayed.

According to an example, the wearable device 100 may receive a voiceinput for requesting for execution of an application

According to an example, the wearable device 100 may receive a key inputpreset as an input for requesting for execution of an application on thescreen on which identification information of the application isdisplayed. The preset key may be a physical key attached to the wearabledevice 100 or a virtual key in the form of a graphical user interface(GUI).

In operation S220, the wearable device 100 may acquire time informationrequired until the execution of the application (i.e., required timeinformation) in response to the input for requesting for the executionof the application.

According to an example, the time information required until theexecution of the application may be a time required until a task fordisplaying a splash image of the application is completed afterreceiving the input for requesting for the execution of the application.

In the disclosure, the term “splash image” may, for example, be an imagethrough which information on an application may be delivered, and asplash image may include a name, a logo, update information, and thelike of an application. A splash image may indicate an image displayedwhile loading a main program of an application after starting theapplication. In addition, a splash image may be displayed whileperforming an update task or the like of an application but is notlimited thereto.

According to an example, the time information required until theexecution of the application may be information on a time required untila task for displaying a finally displayed image in execution of aprevious application is completed.

According to an example, the time information required until theexecution of the application may be information on a time required untilan initialization task including memory loading for executing theapplication is completed after receiving the input for requesting forthe execution of the application.

Alternatively, the time information required until the execution of theapplication may be information on a time required until a main processof the application of the wearable device 100 is scheduled by anoperating system scheduler after receiving the input for requesting forthe execution of the application.

Alternatively, the time information required until the execution of theapplication may be information on a time required until the wearabledevice 100 completes rendering on an initial image of the applicationafter receiving the input for requesting for the execution of theapplication.

According to an example, the time information required until theexecution of the application may be acquired based on at least one ofthe performance of the wearable device 100, a load of the wearabledevice 100, and a load of the application.

The performance of the wearable device 100 or the load of the wearabledevice 100 may include information about frames per second (FPS),million instructions per second (MIPS), an interrupt delay time, aninterrupt service routine processing delay time, a scheduling delaytime, a context switch delay time, a task preoccupation delay time, thenumber of processors of the wearable device 100, the number ofapplications being executed in the wearable device 100, and the like.

For example, even required time information of a same application mayvary based on an execution time point. For example, if threeapplications are being executed at a first time point where the firstapplication is executed, a time required to execute the firstapplication at the first time point may be “2 seconds”, if fiveapplications are being executed at a second time point where the firstapplication is executed, a time required to execute the firstapplication at the second time point may be “2.5 seconds”.

The load of the application may, for example, include information abouta size (a memory occupation amount) and a code amount of theapplication, whether a network is used when loading the application, andthe like.

According to an example, when the time information required until theexecution of the application is pre-stored in a memory, the wearabledevice 100 may extract the time information required until the executionof the application from the memory based on identification informationof the application. The time information stored in the memory may be anaverage value of time information required until execution of a specificapplication, which has been acquired by the wearable device 100 aplurality of times.

According to an example, the wearable device 100 may store the requiredtime information acquired based on at least one of the performance ofthe wearable device 100, the load of the wearable device 100, and theload of the application by mapping the required time information to theidentification information of the application.

In operation S230, the wearable device 100 may display a predeterminedimage while scrolling the predetermined image in the first directionuntil the execution of the application based on the acquired requiredtime information. The predetermined image may include a gradation image,a pre-defined image, and the like. Herein, the term “scroll” (orscrolling) indicates that, for example, when an amount of information tobe displayed on a screen is greater than a screen displayable amount ofa display device, if information displayed on the screen is moved in aup/down or left/right direction, new information corresponding to adisappearing portion from the screen appears from an opposite directionto the moving direction.

According to an example, the wearable device 100 may display apredetermined image while scrolling the predetermined image in theup/down or left/right direction and display a new image (e.g., anexecution window of an application) continuing to the predeterminedimage.

Alternatively, the wearable device 100 may sequentially display a screenimage in which identification information of an application is displayedand a gradation image while scrolling the screen image and the gradationimage in the first direction. The gradation image may be an imagegenerated by the wearable device 100 based on a color of the screen onwhich the identification information of the application is displayed anda color of an application execution window.

According to an example, the wearable device 100 may sequentiallydisplay a screen image in which identification information of anapplication is displayed and a pre-defined image while scrolling thescreen image and the predetermined image in the first direction. Thepre-defined image may have a constant length.

According to an example, the wearable device 100 may determine a speedof scrolling the screen in the first direction based on a drag inputspeed of the user or a preset scroll speed. The preset scroll speed maybe set depending on the wearable device 100 or set by the user.

According to an example, the wearable device 100 may determine a lengthof a gradation image based on required time information of anapplication and scroll speed information.

For example, the wearable device 100 may generate a longer gradationimage as a time required to execute an application is longer when ascroll speed is constant.

Alternatively, the wearable device 100 may determine a length of agradation image based on time information required until execution of anapplication and a predetermined reference (e.g., a pre-defined table)but is not limited thereto.

According to an example, the wearable device 100 may adjust a scrollspeed for a predetermined image based on required time information of anapplication and a length of the predetermined image.

For example, if a length of the predetermined image is constant, thewearable device 100 may adjust a scroll speed for the predeterminedimage based on required time information of an application. An examplemethod by which the wearable device 100 adjusts a scroll speed will bedescribed below in detail with reference to FIG.

According to an example, the wearable device 100 may display anexecution window of an application next to a predetermined image byscrolling the predetermined image in the first direction. For example,the wearable device 100 may display an application execution window froma lower end of the screen as much as a predetermined image disappears toan upper end thereof.

The wearable device 100 may perform a necessary task until execution ofan application while displaying a predetermined image. Therefore, thewearable device 100 may provide an execution window of the applicationto the user next to the predetermined image after completing launchingof the application.

According to an example, the wearable device 100 may inform the userthat an application is normally being executed, by providing a gradationimage or the like instead of a blank image (e.g., a black screen imagedue to a screen image change) or a still image (e.g., an afterimage onthe screen on which identification information of the application isdisplayed) until execution of the application after receiving an inputfor requesting for the execution of the application. In addition, thewearable device 100 may provide a smooth application launching effect byproviding a gradation image or a pre-defined image until execution of anapplication.

FIGS. 3A and 3B illustrate examples in which the wearable device 100executes an application.

FIG. 3A illustrates an example in which the wearable device 100 is asmart watch 301, and FIG. 3B illustrates an example in which thewearable device 100 is a smart band 302.

As shown in FIG. 3A, the smart watch 301 may display identificationinformation 310 of the schedule management application. Thereafter, thesmart watch 301 may receive a drag input 305 from a lower end of ascreen to an upper end.

The smart watch 301 may acquire time information required untilexecution of the schedule management application in response to the draginput 305. For example, the smart watch 301 may acquire time information(e.g., 1 second) required until a splash image of the schedulemanagement application is displayed. The required time information(e.g., 1 second) may be acquired based on the number of applicationsbeing executed in the smart watch 301 when the user inputs the draginput 305, a memory occupation amount of the schedule managementapplication, and the like.

The smart watch 301 may determine a length (e.g., 100 pixels) of agradation image 325 based on a dragging speed (e.g., 100 pixels/s) ofthe user and the required time information (e.g., 1 second).

The smart watch 301 may sequentially display the identificationinformation 310 of the schedule management application and the gradationimage 325 while scrolling the screen from the lower end to the upper endin operation 300-1. In this case, the smart watch 301 may display thegradation image 325 for the time (e.g., 1 second) required untilexecution of the schedule management application. For example, the smartwatch 301 may display the gradation image 325 of the determined length(e.g., 100 pixels) while scrolling the screen from the lower end to theupper end at a constant speed (e.g., 100 pixels/s) in operation 300-2.

The smart watch 301 may display an execution window 330 of the schedulemanagement application next to the gradation image 325 while scrollingthe screen from the lower end to the upper end in operation 300-3.

For example, the smart watch 301 may display the execution window of theschedule management application from a time point where the display ofthe gradation image 325 ends by scrolling the screen from the lower inoperation 300-3.

As shown in FIG. 3B, the smart band 302 may provide a screen includingidentification information of a plurality of applications. For example,the smart band 302 may display a first icon corresponding to a cameraapplication, a second icon corresponding to the schedule managementapplication, and a third icon corresponding to a call historyapplication on the screen.

The smart band 302 may divide the screen into a first region 311 inwhich the first icon is displayed, a second region 312 in which thesecond icon is displayed, and a third region 313 in which the third iconis displayed and may recognize a user input (e.g., a drag input) inputon each region. For example, if an input 315 of dragging the firstregion 311 from a lower end of the first region 311 to an upper endthereof is received, the smart band 302 may recognize the input 315 asan input for requesting for execution of the camera application, and ifan input (not shown) of dragging the second region 312 from a lower endof the second region 312 to an upper end thereof is received, the smartband 302 may recognize the received input as an input for requesting forexecution of the schedule management application.

The smart band 302 may acquire time information (e.g., 1.5 seconds)required until execution of the camera application based on the numberof applications being executed in the smart band 302, a memoryoccupation amount of the camera application, and the like in response tothe drag input 315 of the user. The smart band 302 may determine alength (e.g., 120 pixels) of a gradation image 335 corresponding to adragging speed (e.g., 80 pixels/s) of the user and the required timeinformation (e.g., 1.5 seconds).

The smart band 302 may sequentially display a screen image on which theidentification information of the plurality of applications and thegradation image 335 while scrolling the screen image and the gradationimage 335 in operation 300-4. The smart band 302 may display thegradation image 335 by scrolling the screen from the lower end to theupper end according to the dragging speed (e.g., 80 pixels/s) of theuser. The smart band 302 may sequentially display an execution window340 of the camera application from a time point where displaying of thegradation image 335 ends by scrolling the screen from the lower end ofthe screen in operation 300-5.

The smart band 302 may acquire time information (e.g., 1.2 seconds)required until execution of the schedule management application inresponse to an input (not shown) of the user for requesting forexecution of an application in the second region 312. Even though theschedule management application is implemented in each device (e.g., thesmart watch 301 or the smart band 302) in a similar manner, the requiredtime information (e.g., 1.2 seconds) acquired by the smart band 302 forthe schedule management application may differ from the required timeinformation (e.g., 1 seconds) acquired by the smart watch 301 of FIG.3A. Required time information for the same schedule managementapplication may vary depending on the wearable device 100 since a loadof each wearable device 100 varies at a time point where the schedulemanagement application is executed or since the performance of eachwearable device 100 varies.

As described above, the wearable device 100 may inform the user that anapplication is being executed normally, by providing a change in ascreen image until execution of the application to the user for eachapplication.

In addition, the wearable device 100 may provide a smooth applicationlaunching effect to the user by naturally changing a color of the screenthrough a gradation image generated immediately after a drag input ofthe user.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an example method of selecting anapplication in the wearable device 100.

In operation S410, the wearable device 100 may provide an applicationlist including identification information of at least one application.

In the disclosure, the term “application list” may, for example,indicate identification information of applications executable in thewearable device 100, which is sorted in a predetermined order.

For example, the application list may be in the form of icons or thelike corresponding to the at least one application, which are sorted ina use frequency order. In addition, an arrangement order of theidentification information of the at least one application included inthe application list may be changed by the user. A method by which theuser changes an arrangement order of identification information ofapplications in the wearable device 100 will be described below indetail with reference to FIG. 6.

In operation S420, the wearable device 100 may receive a drag input in asecond direction that is different from the first direction. The firstdirection may be a direction in which identification information of anapplication, a gradation image, and an execution window of theapplication are sequentially scrolled. The second direction may be adirection in that the application list is scrolled.

According to an example, the second direction may different from thefirst direction. For example, when the first direction orients from thelower end of the screen to the upper end, the second direction may bethe left/right direction of the screen. Alternatively, when the firstdirection orients from the right of the screen to the left, the seconddirection may be the up/down direction of the screen.

According to an example, the wearable device 100 may receive an input ofdragging, in the second direction, the screen on which the applicationlist is displayed.

According to an example, the wearable device 100 may receive an input oflifting or moving, in the second direction, the screen on which theapplication list is displayed.

According to an example, the wearable device 100 may receive a bendinginput of bending, in the second direction, the screen on which theapplication list is displayed.

According to an example, the wearable device 100 may receive a key inputon the screen on which the application list is displayed. Alternatively,wearable device 100 may receive a voice input of commanding scroll ofthe application list.

According to an example, an amount of information provided by theapplication list of the wearable device 100 may be greater than a screendisplayable amount of the wearable device 100. In this case, thewearable device 100 may display, on the screen, only identificationinformation of a portion of the at least one application included in theapplication list.

The wearable device 100 may display the application list while scrollingthe application list in the second direction in response to the receivedinput.

In operation S430, the wearable device 100 may select an applicationfrom the application list based on a received input.

According to an example, the wearable device 100 may displayidentification information of a specific application included in theapplication list based on a drag input in the second direction. If theidentification information of the specific application is displayed onthe screen, the wearable device 100 may determine that the user hasselected the specific application.

For example, the application list in the wearable device 100 may includefirst identification information corresponding to a first application,second identification information corresponding to a second application,third identification information corresponding to a third application,and the like. The wearable device 100 may display the firstidentification information in the application list by receiving an inputof dragging, from the left to the right, the screen on which the secondidentification information is displayed. In this case, the wearabledevice 100 may recognize that the first application has been selected.

The wearable device 100 may display the third identification informationin the application list by receiving an input of dragging, from theright to the left, the screen on which the second identificationinformation is displayed. In this case, the wearable device 100 mayrecognize that the third application has been selected.

According to an example, the wearable device 100 may select a specificapplication from the application list based on a motion input of liftingor moving the screen in the second direction.

According to an example, the wearable device 100 may select a specificapplication from the application list based on a bending input ofbending the screen in the second direction.

According to an example, the wearable device 100 may select a specificapplication from the application list based on a key input or a voiceinput.

According to an example, the wearable device 100 may display, on thescreen, identification information of the selected application.

According to an example, the wearable device 100 may display, on thescreen, identification information of a plurality of applications, whichincludes the identification information of the selected application.

For example, the application list in the wearable device 100 may includethe first identification information corresponding to the firstapplication, the second identification information corresponding to thesecond application, the third identification information correspondingto the third application, and the like. The wearable device 100 maydisplay both the first identification information and the secondidentification information on the screen. The wearable device 100 mayselect the third application based on an input of dragging the screenfrom the right to the left. When the third application is selected, thewearable device 100 may display both the third identificationinformation of the selected third application and the secondidentification information.

The selected application may receive an additional input (e.g., a draginput in the first direction) and perform an operation responding to thereceived input (e.g., execution of the application or the like).

FIGS. 5A and 5B illustrate an application list 510 provided by thewearable device 100 and an example of selecting an application in thewearable device 100.

FIG. 5A illustrates an example in which the application list 510provided by the wearable device 100 is displayed on the screen.

As shown in FIG. 5A, the application list 510 in the wearable device 100may include first identification information (e.g., “Camera”) of thecamera application, second identification information (e.g., “Today'sSchedule”) of the schedule management application, third identificationinformation (e.g., “Logs”) of the call history application, and thelike.

The wearable device 100 may display a screen image includingidentification information of at least one application in theapplication list 510 based on a screen displayable area of the wearabledevice 100, a size of the identification information of the at least oneapplication, and the like.

For example, the wearable device 100 may display a screen image 520including the second identification information (e.g., “Today'sSchedule”) in the application list 510.

Alternatively, the wearable device 100 may display a screen image 530including the first identification information (e.g., “Camera”), thesecond identification information (e.g., “Today's Schedule”), and thethird identification information (e.g., “Logs”) in the application list510.

The application list 510 in the wearable device 100 may be displayed bybeing scrolled in the second direction (e.g., in the left/rightdirection).

FIG. 5B illustrates an example of selecting a specific application fromthe wearable device 100 based on a drag input in the second direction.

As shown in FIG. 5B, the wearable device 100 may receive a drag input ofthe user on the screen image 520 including the second identificationinformation (e.g., “Today's Schedule”) included in the application list510.

The drag input of the user may be a first input 545 of dragging thescreen from the right to the left or a second input 555 of dragging thescreen from the left to the right.

The wearable device 100 may display a screen image 540 including thefirst identification information (e.g., “Camera”) based on the firstinput 545. In this case, the wearable device 100 may recognize that thecamera application has been selected.

In addition, the wearable device 100 may display a screen image 550including the third identification information (e.g., “Logs”) based onthe second input 555. In this case, the wearable device 100 mayrecognize that the call history application has been selected.

The user may execute the camera application by dragging the screen image540 including the first identification information (e.g., “Camera”) inthe first direction (e.g., a direction of orienting from the lower endof the screen to the upper end thereof).

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example method of changing anarrangement order of identification information of applications in thewearable device 100.

In operation S610, the wearable device 100 may provide an editing windowthrough which an arrangement order of identification information ofapplications may be changed (hereinafter, for convenience ofdescription, referred to as “editing window”).

According to an example, the wearable device 100 may provide an editingwindow in which identification information (e.g., text) of at least oneapplication included in an application list is arranged and displayedaccording to an order of the application list.

For example, the editing window provided by the wearable device 100 maybe arranged vertically and display identification information of aplurality of applications (e.g., name information of the applications)based on the order of the application list.

According to an example, the wearable device 100 may switch the screenon which the application list is displayed to the screen on which theediting window is displayed.

For example, the wearable device 100 may switch the screen on which theapplication list is displayed to the screen on which the editing windowis displayed by receiving a touch & hold input of the user from thescreen on which the application list is displayed. The wearable device100 may inform the user that the application list has been switched tothe editing window by providing a screen image in which identificationinformation (e.g., icons) of applications, which is displayed on thescreen, minutely shakes to the left and the right at a constantfrequency (or a screen image in which a color or edge of theidentification information of the applications has been changed).

In operation S620, the wearable device 100 may receive a user input forchanging an arrangement order of the identification information of theapplications.

According to an example, the wearable device 100 may provide a userinterface through which the arrangement order of the identificationinformation of the applications in the editing window may be changed.The wearable device 100 may receive a tap input of the user through theprovided user interface.

For example, the wearable device 100 may provide an icon by which eachof the identification information of the applications (e.g., nameinformation of the applications) arranged vertically in the editingwindow may be moved upwards or downwards.

According to an example, the wearable device 100 may receive a drag &drop input of moving identification information of an application to anarbitrary location from the user. The arrangement order of theidentification information of the applications may be changed based onthe moved arbitrary location.

For example, the wearable device 100 may receive a drag & drop input ofmoving name information of a third application to between nameinformation of a first application and name information of a secondapplication in the editing window in which the name information of thefirst application and the name information of the second application,and the name information of the third application are verticallyarranged.

In addition, the wearable device 100 may receive a drag & drop input ofmoving identification information of an application to an arbitrarylocation in the editing window.

In operation S630, the wearable device 100 may change an arrangementorder of identification information of at least one applications basedon a user input.

According to an example, the wearable device 100 may display the changedarrangement order of the identification information of the at least oneapplication to the user through the editing window.

In operation S640, the wearable device 100 may sort the application listbased on the changed arrangement order of the identification informationof the at least one application.

According to an example, the wearable device 100 may sort theapplication list based on the arrangement order of the identificationinformation of the applications, which has been changed through theediting window.

For example, when a location of the name information of the firstapplication and a location of the name information of the secondapplication are exchanged in the editing window, the wearable device 100may provide an application list in which an order of an icon of thefirst application and an icon of the second application are exchanged.

FIGS. 7A to 7C illustrate an editing window 710 provided by the wearabledevice 100 and an example of an application list sorted in a changedorder.

FIG. 7A illustrates the editing window 710 provided by the wearabledevice 100.

As shown in FIG. 7A, the editing window 710 provided by the wearabledevice 100 may display identification information (e.g., “Settings”) ofat least one application included in an application list by verticallyarranging the identification information (e.g., “Settings”) of the atleast one application in the order of the application list.

In this case, the editing window 710 provided by the wearable device 100may include an icon 715 by which a location of identificationinformation (e.g., “Settings”) of each application arranged in the orderof the application list may be moved upwards or downwards.

With reference to the reference number 700-1, the wearable device 100may receive a tap input 720 on an icon from the user.

The wearable device 100 may change an arrangement order of theidentification information (e.g., “Today's Schedule”) of the schedulemanagement application and the identification information (e.g., “Logs”)of the call history application in response to the tap input 720 of theuser.

With reference to the reference number 700-2, the arrangement order ofthe identification information of the at least one application, whichhas been changed by the user, may be displayed through the editingwindow 710.

FIG. 7B illustrates an example of an application list 730 before thearrangement order of the identification information of the at least oneapplication is changed (700-1).

The application list 730 in the wearable device 100 may include thefirst identification information (e.g., “Camera”) of the cameraapplication, the second identification information (e.g., “Today'sSchedule”) of the schedule management application, the thirdidentification information (e.g., “Logs”) of the call historyapplication, and the like.

FIG. 7C illustrates an example of an application list 740 after thearrangement order of the identification information of the at least oneapplication is changed in the editing window 710 (700-2).

The wearable device 100 may sort the application list 740 in the changedarrangement order of the identification information (e.g., “Today'sSchedule”) of the schedule management application and the identificationinformation (e.g., “Logs”) of the call history application.

For example, the wearable device 100 may provide the application list740 in which the order of the identification information (e.g., “Today'sSchedule”) of the schedule management application and the identificationinformation (e.g., “Logs”) of the call history application has beenchanged.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an example method of displaying anexecution window of an application in the wearable device 100.

In operation S810, the wearable device 100 may receive an inputrequesting execution of an application. Operation S810 corresponds tooperation S210 of FIG. 2, and thus a detailed description thereof isomitted.

In operation S820, the wearable device 100 may acquire time informationrequired until the execution of the application in response to the inputfor requesting for the execution of the application. Operation S820corresponds to operation S220 of FIG. 2, and thus a detailed descriptionthereof is omitted.

In operation S830, the wearable device 100 may display a predeterminedimage while scrolling the predetermined image in the first directionuntil the execution of the application based on the acquired requiredtime information. Operation S830 corresponds to operation S230 of FIG.2, and thus a detailed description thereof is omitted.

According to an example, the wearable device 100 may display thepredetermined image next to a screen image in which identificationinformation of the application is displayed while scrolling thepredetermined image in the first direction.

The predetermined image may have a different length for each applicationbased on required time information of each application. Alternatively,the predetermined image may be displayed by a different speed for eachapplication based on required time information of each application. Amethod by which the wearable device 100 adjusts a scroll speed will bedescribed below in detail with reference to FIG. 12.

In operation S840, the wearable device 100 may display an executionwindow of the application.

According to an example, the wearable device 100 may display theexecution window of the application next to the predetermined imagewhile scrolling the predetermined image and the execution window of theapplication in the first direction (e.g., from the lower end of thescreen to the upper end).

For example, the wearable device 100 may display the execution window ofthe application next to the predetermined image by connecting a lowerend of the predetermined image and an upper end of the execution windowof the application while scrolling the predetermined image and theexecution window of the application in the first direction.

The execution window of the application may include a splash image ofthe application, an initial execution image of the application, and thelike but is not limited thereto.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart describing a switch operation between applicationsin the wearable device 100.

In operation S910, the wearable device 100 may display an executionwindow of a first application. The first application may be one ofexecutable applications provided in an application list. For example,the first application may be a configuration application, the schedulemanagement application, the camera application, or the call historyapplication.

In operation S920, the wearable device 100 may receive an applicationswitch input while displaying the execution window of the firstapplication.

According to an example, the application switch input may be a draginput in the second direction by using a plurality of fingers. Herein,the second direction may be identical to a direction of scrolling theapplication list.

For example, the wearable device 100 may receive a drag input in theleft/right direction by using two fingers as the application switchinput.

According to an example, the application switch input may be a motioninput of moving or lifting the screen in the second direction.

According to an example, the application switch input may be a bendinginput of bending the screen in the second direction.

According to an example, the application switch input may be a key inputor a voice input for commanding an application switch but is not limitedthereto.

In operation S930, the wearable device 100 may select an applicationadjacent in the order to identification information of the firstapplication and being executed from the application list.

For example, the wearable device 100 may provide an application listincluding first identification information of the first application,second identification information of a second application, thirdidentification information of a third application, and fourthidentification information of a fourth application in order. Thewearable device 100 may receive an application switch input whiledisplaying the execution window of the first application. If the secondapplication and the third application are being executed, the wearabledevice 100 may select the second application adjacent in the order tothe identification information of the first application and beingexecuted. Alternatively, if the third application and the fourthapplication are being executed, the wearable device 100 may select thethird application adjacent in the order to the identificationinformation of the first application and being executed.

In operation S940, the wearable device 100 may display an executionwindow of the selected application.

According to an example, the wearable device 100 may display a latestexecution window in a previous execution of the selected application.

Alternatively, the wearable device 100 may display an initial executionwindow of the selected application.

According to an example, the wearable device 100 may sequentiallydisplay the execution window of the first application and the executionwindow of the selected application while scrolling the execution windowof the first application and the execution window of the selectedapplication in the second direction.

According to an example, the wearable device 100 may sequentiallydisplay a screen image including the identification information of thesecond application next to a screen image including the identificationinformation of the first application while scrolling the screen imagesin the second direction, based on a drag input in the second direction.

In addition, the wearable device 100 may sequentially display theexecution window of the second application next to the execution windowof the first application while scrolling the execution windows in thesecond direction, based on a drag input using a plurality of fingers inthe second direction.

That is, the wearable device 100 may provide a consistent and intuitiveuser interface to the user by providing a movement between pieces ofidentification information of applications included in an applicationlist and a movement between applications being executed, based on aninput of dragging the screen in the second direction.

FIG. 10 illustrates an example of a switch between applications beingexecuted.

As shown in FIG. 10, an application list 1001 in the wearable device 100may include first identification information 1012 of the schedulemanagement application being executed, second identification information1013 of an address book application being executed, and thirdinformation 1014 of a dialer application being executed.

The wearable device 100 may receive a switch input 1015 of dragging thescreen from the left to the right with two fingers on an executionwindow 1010 of the schedule management application. The wearable device100 may select the address book application corresponding to the secondidentification information 1013 adjacent in the order to the firstidentification information 1012 of the schedule management application,based on an arrangement order of application identification informationin the application list 1001.

The wearable device 100 may sequentially display the execution window1010 of the schedule management application and an execution window 1020of the address book application while scrolling the screen from theright to the left in response to the switch input 1015.

In addition, the wearable device 100 may receive an input (not shown) ofdragging the screen from the right to the left with two fingers on theexecution window 1020 of the address book application and sequentiallydisplay the execution window 1020 of the address book application and anexecution window (not shown) of the dialer application while scrollingthe screen from the right to the left.

FIG. 11 illustrates an example of a switch between applications beingexecuted based on a change in an arrangement order of identificationinformation of the applications.

In FIG. 11, a case in which the application list 1001 in the wearabledevice 100 includes the first identification information 1012 of theschedule management application being executed, the secondidentification information 1013 of the address book application beingexecuted, and the third information 1014 of the dialer application beingexecuted as shown in FIG. 10 will be described as an example.

The wearable device 100 may provide an editing window 1101 through whichthe arrangement order of the identification information of theapplications may be changed. The editing window 1101 corresponds to theediting window 701 of FIG. 7A, and thus a detailed description thereofis omitted.

The user may change an arrangement order of identification information(e.g., “Contacts”) of the address book application and identificationinformation (e.g., “Dialer”) of the dialer application in the editingwindow 1101. The wearable device 100 may display the changed arrangementorder 1102 of the identification information of the applications in theediting window 1101 and sort the application list 1001 based on thechanged arrangement order 1102.

Therefore, the sorted application list (not shown) may include the firstidentification information 1012 of the schedule management applicationbeing executed, the third information 1014 of the dialer applicationbeing executed, and the second identification information 1013 of theaddress book application being executed, in order.

The wearable device 100 may receive a switch input 1115 of dragging thescreen, on which an execution window 1110 of the schedule managementapplication is displayed, from the right to the left with two fingers.

The wearable device 100 may select the dialer application correspondingto the third information 1014 adjacent in the order to the firstidentification information 1012 of the schedule management applicationbeing executed, unlike FIG. 10, based on the arrangement order of theidentification information of the applications in the sorted applicationlist.

The wearable device 100 may sequentially display the execution window1110 of the schedule management application and an execution window 1120of the dialer application while scrolling the screen from the right tothe left in response to the switch input 1115.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an example method of adjusting ascroll speed of a predetermined image in the wearable device 100.

In operation S1210, the wearable device 100 may receive an inputrequesting execution of an application. Operation S1210 corresponds tooperation S210 of FIG. 2, and thus a detailed description thereof isomitted.

In operation S1220, the wearable device 100 may acquire time informationrequired until the execution of the application in response to the inputfor requesting for the execution of the application. Operation S1220corresponds to operation S220 of FIG. 2, and thus a detailed descriptionthereof is omitted.

In operation S1230, if a length of a predetermined image is pre-defined,the wearable device 100 may adjust a speed of scrolling thepredetermined image in the first direction based on the required timeinformation. The predetermined image of which the length is pre-definedmay include a user-designated image, a background image, a gradationimage of which a length is constant, or the like.

According to an example, the wearable device 100 may adjust the speed ofscrolling the predetermined image by using the length of thepredetermined image and the required time information.

For example, the wearable device 100 may determine the speed (e.g., 100pixels/s) of scrolling the user-designated image (or the backgroundimage) in the first direction based on the length (e.g., 100 pixels) ofthe user-designated image and the required time information (e.g., 1second). The wearable device 100 may display the predetermined image byscrolling the predetermined image at a faster speed as a value of therequired time information is smaller.

According to an example, the wearable device 100 may makes constant thelength (e.g., a screen length) of a gradation image to be generatedbased on the required time information. If the gradation image of whichthe length is constant is generated, the wearable device 100 maydetermine a speed (e.g., 50 pixels/s) of scrolling the gradation imagein the first direction based on the length (e.g., 100 pixels) of thegradation image and acquired required time information (e.g., 2seconds).

Alternatively, the wearable device 100 may determine the speed ofscrolling the predetermined image of which the length is pre-definedbased on the time information required until the execution of theapplication and a predetermined reference (e.g., a pre-defined table).However, a method of determining the speed of scrolling thepredetermined image is not limited thereto.

In operation S1240, the wearable device 100 may display thepredetermined image until the execution of the application by scrollingthe predetermined image in the first direction.

According to an example, the wearable device 100 may scroll thepredetermined image by applying a different scroll speed for eachapplication.

According to an example, the wearable device 100 may display anexecution window of the application next to the predetermined image froma time point where the predetermined image ends while scrolling thescreen from the lower end to the upper end.

FIGS. 13A to 13C illustrate an example of adjusting a scroll speed of apredetermined image in the wearable device 100.

FIG. 13A illustrates a table of time information required untilexecution of an application in the wearable device 100.

Referring to the table of FIG. 13A, the wearable device 100 may acquirefirst required time information (e.g., 1 second) in response to an inputfor executing the schedule management application. In addition, thewearable device 100 may acquire second required time information (e.g.,2 seconds) in response to an input for executing the camera application.

FIG. 13B illustrates an example in which the wearable device 100 adjustsa length of a gradation image based on required time information of eachapplication.

As shown in FIG. 13B, the wearable device 100 may generate a firstgradation image 1311 based on the acquired first required timeinformation (e.g., 1 second) and a scroll speed (e.g., a drag speed ofthe user or a preset scroll speed of 100 pixels/s). In this case, alength of the generated first gradation image 1311 may be 100 pixels.

Alternatively, the wearable device 100 may generate a second gradationimage 1321 based on the acquired second required time information (e.g.,2 seconds) and the scroll speed (e.g., the drag speed of the user or thepreset scroll speed of 100 pixels/s). In this case, a length of thegenerated second gradation image 1321 may be 200 pixels.

That is, if a scroll speed is constant as 100 pixels/s, the length ofthe generated second gradation image 1321 generated by the wearabledevice 100 may be double the length of the generated first gradationimage 1311.

FIG. 13C illustrates an example in which the wearable device 100 adjustsa scroll speed of a user-designated image 1331 having a constant lengthbased on required time information of each application.

Referring to FIG. 13C, the wearable device 100 may determine a firstscroll speed 1335 based on the acquired first required time information(e.g., 1 second) and a length (e.g., 100 pixels) of the user-designatedimage 1331. In this case, the determined first scroll speed 1335 may be100 pixels/s.

The wearable device 100 may determine a second scroll speed 1345 basedon the acquired second required time information (e.g., 2 seconds) andthe length (e.g., 100 pixels) of the user-designated image 1331. In thiscase, the determined second scroll speed 1345 may be 50 pixels/s.

If the length of the user-designated image 1331 is constant as 100pixels, the determined first scroll speed 1335 (e.g., 100 pixels/s) maybe double the determined second scroll speed 1345 (e.g., 50 pixels/s).

FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating an example method of terminating anapplication in the wearable device 100.

In operation S1410, the wearable device 100 may display an executionwindow of the application. The execution window of the application mayindicate a window through which the wearable device 100 displays a mainprogram of the application.

In operation S1420, the wearable device 100 may receive a drag input ina third direction that is different from the first direction.

The first direction may be a direction of sequentially scrollingidentification information of the application, a gradation image, andthe execution window of the application. However, the third directionmay be a direction of sequentially scrolling the execution window of theapplication and the identification information of the application.

For example, if the first direction is a direction from the lower end ofthe screen to the upper end, the third direction may be a direction fromthe upper end of the screen to the lower end. Alternatively, if thefirst direction is a direction from the upper end of the screen to thelower end, the third direction may be a direction from the lower end ofthe screen to the upper end.

According to an example, the wearable device 100 may provide aconsistent and intuitive user interface by executing the application inresponse to a drag input in the first direction (e.g., a direction fromthe lower end of the screen to the upper end) and terminating theapplication in response to a drag input in the third direction (e.g., adirection from the upper end of the screen to the lower end).

According to an example, the wearable device 100 may receive a motioninput of lifting or moving, in the third direction, the screen on whichthe execution window of the application is displayed.

According to an example, the wearable device 100 may receive a bendinginput of bending, in the third direction, the screen on which theexecution window of the application is displayed.

According to an example, the wearable device 100 may receive a key inputon the screen on which the execution window of the application isdisplayed.

Alternatively, the wearable device 100 may receive a voice input ofcommanding termination of the application.

In operation S1430, the wearable device 100 may display a pre-executionimage of the application being executed in response to a drag input inthe third direction.

According to an example, the wearable device 100 may display anapplication list including identification information of an applicationbeing executed, based on a drag input in the third direction.

According to an example, the wearable device 100 may display an imagefor confirming whether execution of an application is terminated, basedon a drag input in the third direction.

According to an example, if an application (e.g., a browser application)includes a plurality of execution windows, the wearable device 100 maydisplay a pre-execution window of the application based on a drag inputin the third direction.

For example, if an application sequentially executes a first executionwindow and a second execution window, the wearable device 100 maydisplay the first execution window based on a drag input in the thirddirection, which has been received on the second execution window.

According to an example, the wearable device 100 may sequentiallydisplay an execution window of an application being currently executedand a pre-execution window (or image) while scrolling the screen in thethird direction.

For example, if an application sequentially executes a first executionwindow and a second execution window, the wearable device 100 maysequentially display the second execution window and the first executionwindow while scrolling the screen from the upper end to the lower end,based on a drag input in the third direction.

According to an example, the wearable device 100 may inform that thewearable device 100 normally performs each operation by scrolling anobject (e.g., an execution window of an application) displayed on thescreen during each operation in response to a user input for requestingfor selection, execution, switch, or termination of the application.

FIG. 15 illustrates an example in which the wearable device 100terminates an application.

Referring to FIG. 15, the wearable device 100 may execute the schedulemanagement application and display an execution window 1510 of theschedule management application on the screen.

In this case, the wearable device 100 may receive a termination input1515 of dragging the screen in the third direction (e.g., from the upperend of the screen to the lower end).

The wearable device 100 may display a screen image 1520 in whichidentification information (e.g., “Today's Schedule”) of the schedulemanagement application is displayed next to the execution window 1510 ofthe schedule management application by scrolling the screen in the thirddirection in response to the termination input 1515.

The wearable device 100 may perform a task required to terminate theschedule management application while sequentially scrolling anddisplaying the execution window 1510 of the schedule managementapplication and screen image 1520 in which the identificationinformation (e.g., “Today's Schedule”) of the schedule managementapplication is displayed.

FIGS. 16 and 17 are block diagrams illustrating examples of the wearabledevice 100.

As shown in FIG. 16, the wearable device 100 according to an example mayinclude interface circuitry in the form of a user interface unit 110, acontroller or control unit 130, and a display unit 121 including adisplay. However, not all of the shown components are mandatory. Thewearable device 100 may be implemented by more or less components thanthe shown components.

For example, as shown in FIG. 17, according to an example, the wearabledevice 100 may further include a communication unit 150 includingcommunication circuitry, an output unit 120, a sensor or sensing unit140, an audio/video (NV) input unit 160, and a memory 170 in addition tothe user interface unit 110, the control unit 130, and the display unit121.

The components described above will now be described.

The user interface unit 110 may indicate a means through which the userinputs data for controlling the wearable device 100. For example, theuser interface unit 110 may include a keypad, a dome switch, a touch pad(a capacitive overlay touch pad, a resistive overlay touch pad, aninfrared (IR) beam touch pad, a surface acoustic wave touch pad, anintegral strain gauge touch pad, a piezoelectric touch pad, or thelike), a jog wheel, a jog switch, and the like but is not limitedthereto.

The user interface unit 110 may receive an execution input forrequesting for execution of an application. The user interface unit 110may receive a selection input of scrolling an application list providedby the wearable device 100.

The user interface unit 110 may receive a switch input for requestingfor a switch between applications being executed. The user interfaceunit 110 may receive a termination input 10 for requesting fortermination of an application being executed.

The display unit 121 may include a display for displaying identificationinformation of an application, an application list includingidentification information of at least one application, an execution ofan application, an editing window, or the like.

The display unit 121 may display information processed by the wearabledevice 100. For example, the display unit 121 may sequentially scrolland display a screen image including identification information of anapplication, which is generated by the wearable device 100, apredetermined image, and an execution screen image of the application.

The display unit 121 may scroll and display an application listincluding identification information of applications, which is generatedby the wearable device 100.

The display unit 121 may sequentially scroll and display executionwindows of applications being executed.

The display unit 121 may scroll and display identification informationof an application next to an execution window of the application orscroll and display a window, which was displayed before the executionwindow of the application, next to the execution window of theapplication.

When the display unit 121 and a touch pad form a layer structure toconfigure a touch screen, the display unit 121 may be used as not onlyan output device but also an input device. The display unit 121 mayinclude at least one of a liquid crystal display, a thin-film transistorliquid crystal display, an organic light-emitting diode, a flexibledisplay, a three-dimensional (3D) display, and an electrophoreticdisplay. The wearable device 100 may include two or more display units121 according to an implementation form of the wearable device 100. Thetwo or more display units 121 may be disposed to face each other byusing a hinge.

An acoustic output unit 122 may output audio data received through thecommunication unit 150 or stored in the memory 170. In addition, theacoustic output unit 122 may output an acoustic signal related to afunction (e.g., a call signal reception sound, a message receptionsound, or an alarm sound) performed by the wearable device 100. Theacoustic output unit 122 may include a speaker, a buzzer, and the like.

A vibration motor 123 may output a vibration signal. For example, thevibration motor 123 may output a vibration signal corresponding to anoutput of audio data or video data (e.g., a call signal reception sound,a message reception sound, or the like). In addition, the vibrationmotor 123 may output a vibration signal when a touch is inputted throughthe touch screen.

The controller or control unit 130 may be in the form of a processor andbe configured to commonly control a general operation of the wearabledevice 100. For example, the control unit 130 may generally control theuser interface unit 110, the output unit 120, the communication unit150, the A/V input unit 160, and the like by executing programs storedin the memory 170.

The control unit 130 may be configured to acquire time informationrequired until execution of an application in response to an input forrequesting for the execution of the application. For example, thecontrol unit 130 may be configured to acquire time information requireduntil the execution of the application after receiving the input forrequesting for the execution of the application, based on at least oneof the performance and a load of the wearable device 100 and a load ofthe application.

The control unit 130 may be configured to provide an application listincluding identification information of at least one application. Thecontrol unit 130 may change an arrangement order of the identificationinformation of the at least one application included in the applicationlist, based on an input for changing an order of the application list.

The control unit 130 may be configured to recognize that an applicationcorresponding to identification information of the application has beenselected, based on the identification information of the applicationdisplayed by the display unit 121.

The control unit 130 may be configured to select a second applicationadjacent in the order to a first application and being executed from anapplication list, based on a switch input received by the user interfaceunit 110.

The control unit 130 may be configured to adjust a scroll speed of apredetermined image based on time information required until executionof an application after receiving an input for requesting for theexecution of the application if a length of the predetermined image ispre-defined.

The control unit 130 may be configured to perform an operation requiredto execute an application in the middle of scrolling and displaying apredetermined image on the display unit 121 in response to an input forrequesting for the execution of the application.

The control unit 130 may be configured to perform an operation requiredto terminate an application in the middle of sequentially scrolling anddisplaying an execution window and a pre-execution image of theapplication on the display unit 121 in response to an input forterminating execution of the application.

The sensing unit 140 may include any number of sensors, including atleast one of a geomagnetism sensor 141, an acceleration sensor 142, atemperature/humidity sensor 143, an IR sensor 144, a gyroscope sensor145, a position sensor 146, an atmospheric pressure sensor 147, aproximity sensor 148 and RGB sensor 149. A function of each sensor maybe inferred by those of ordinary skill in the art from a name thereof,and thus a detailed description thereof is omitted herein.

The communication unit 150 may include one or more components enablingthe wearable device 100 to communicate with an external device or aserver. For example, the communication unit 150 may include ashort-range wireless communication unit 151, a mobile communication unit152, and a broadcast reception unit 153.

The short-range wireless communication unit 151 may include a Bluetoothcommunication unit, a Bluetooth low energy (BLE) communication unit, anear-field communication unit, a wireless local area network (WLAN)(Wi-Fi) communication unit, a Zigbee communication unit, an infrareddata association (IrDA) communication unit, Wi-Fi Direct (WFD)communication unit, an ultra-wideband (UWB) communication unit, an Ant+communication unit, and the like but is not limited thereto.

The mobile communication unit 152 may transmit and receive a wirelesssignal to and from at least one of a base station, an external terminal,and a server in a mobile communication network. The wireless signal mayinclude a voice call signal, a video call signal, or various types ofdata according to text/multimedia message transmission and reception.

The broadcast reception unit 153 may receive a broadcast signal and/orbroadcast related information from the outside through a broadcastchannel, and the broadcast channel may include a satellite channel and aterrestrial channel. According to implemented examples, the wearabledevice 100 may not include the broadcast reception unit 153.

The communication unit 150 may receive a command for execution of anapplication from an external device connected to the wearable device100. The communication unit 150 may receive a command for selection ofan application from an external device connected to the wearable device100. The communication unit 150 may receive a command for a switchbetween applications being executed from an external device connected tothe wearable device 100. The communication unit 150 may receive acommand for termination of an application from an external deviceconnected to the wearable device 100.

The A/V input unit 160 is to input an audio signal or a video signal andmay include a camera 161, a microphone 162, and the like. The camera 161may receive an image frame of a still image, a moving picture, or thelike through an image sensor in a video call mode or a capturing mode.An image captured through the image sensor may be processed by thecontrol unit 130 or a separate image processing unit (not shown).

The image frame processed by the camera 161 may be stored in the memory170 or transmitted to the outside through the communication unit 150.Two or more cameras 161 may be provided depending on an implementationform of the wearable device 100.

The microphone 162 may receive an external acoustic signal and processthe external acoustic signal to electrical voice data. For example, themicrophone 162 may receive an acoustic signal from an external device ora speaker. The microphone 162 may use various noise cancellationalgorithms to cancel noise generated during a process of receiving anexternal acoustic signal.

The memory 170 may store programs for processing and control of thecontrol unit 120 and store inputted/outputted data (e.g., a plurality ofmenus, a plurality of first-layer sub-menus corresponding to each of theplurality of menus, a plurality of second-layer sub-menus correspondingto each of the plurality of first-layer sub-menus, and the like).

The memory 170 may include at least one type of storage medium among aflash memory type memory, a hard disk type memory, a multimedia cardmicro type memory, a card type memory (e.g., a secure digital (SD) orextreme digital (XD) memory or the like), random access memory (RAM),static RAM (SRAM), read only memory (ROM), electrically erasableprogrammable ROM (EEPROM), PROM, a magnetic memory, a magnetic disc, andan optical disc. In addition, the wearable device 100 may operate a webstorage or a cloud server which performs a storage function of thememory 170 over the Internet.

The programs stored in the memory 170 may be classified into a pluralityof modules according to functions thereof, e.g., a user interface (UI)module 171, a touch screen module 172, an alarm module 173, and thelike.

The UI module 171 may provide a specified UI, a graphic user interface(GUI), or the like interoperating with the wearable device 100 for eachapplication. The touch screen module 172 may sense a touch gesture ofthe user on the touch screen and transmit information regarding thetouch gesture to the control unit 130. According to an example, thetouch screen module 172 may recognize and analyze a touch code. Thetouch screen module 172 may be configured by separate hardware includinga controller.

Various sensors for sensing a touch or a proximity touch on the touchscreen may be provided inside or nearby the touch screen. An example ofa sensor for sensing a touch on the touch screen is a tactile sensor.The tactile sensor is a sensor for sensing a contact of a specificobject at a degree of human feeling or more. The tactile sensor maysense various pieces of information such as roughness of a contactsurface, hardness of a contact object, a temperature of a contact point,and the like.

Another example of a sensor for sensing a touch on the touch screen isthe proximity sensor 148.

The proximity sensor 148 is a sensor for detecting whether an objectapproaching a predetermined detection surface or a nearby object existsby using an electromagnetic force or an IR ray without a mechanicalcontact. Examples of the proximity sensor 148 are a transmissiveoptoelectric sensor, a direct reflective optoelectric sensor, a mirrorreflective optoelectric sensor, a high-frequency oscillation proximitysensor, a capacitive proximity sensor, a magnetic proximity sensor, anIR proximity sensor, and the like. Examples of a touch gesture of theuser are a tap, a touch and hold, a double tap, a drag, a flick, aswipe, and the like.

The alarm module 173 may generate a signal for notifying of theoccurrence of an event of the wearable device 100. Examples of an eventgenerated by the wearable device 100 are call signal reception, messagereception, a key signal input, a schedule notification, and the like.The alarm module 173 may output an alarm signal in a video signal formthrough the display unit 121, an alarm signal in an audio signal formthrough the acoustic output unit 122, or an alarm signal in a vibrationsignal form through the vibration motor 123.

The methods according to one or more examples of the disclosure may beimplemented in a program instruction form executable through variouscomputer means and recorded in a non-transitory computer-readablerecording medium. The non-transitory computer-readable recording mediummay include program instructions, data files, data structures, and thelike, taken alone or in combination. The program instructions recordedin the medium may be particularly designed and configured for the one ormore examples or well-known and usable to those of ordinary skill in thecomputer software field. Examples of the non-transitorycomputer-readable recording medium are magnetic media such as harddisks, floppy disks, and magnetic tapes, optical media such as CD-ROMsand digital versatile discs (DVDs), magneto-optical media such asfloptical disks, and hardware devices, such as read-only memory (ROM),random-access memory (RAM), flash memories, and the like, particularlyconfigured to store and execute program instructions. The programinstructions include, for example, not only machine language codes madeby a compiler but also high-language codes executable by a computer byusing an interpreter or the like.

The wearable device 100 according to one or more examples of thedisclosure may reduce a user's sensible waiting time of an applicationand provide a smooth application launching effect to the user bydisplaying an execution waiting screen image by taking into account timeinformation required until execution of each application. In addition,the wearable device 100 according to one or more examples of thedisclosure may inform that the wearable device 100 is normally operatingby scrolling an object (e.g., an execution window of an applicationdisplayed on the screen during each operation in response to a userinput for requesting for selection, execution, switch, or termination ofthe application. In addition, the wearable device 100 according to oneor more examples of the disclosure may provide a consistent andintuitive user interface.

It should be understood that examples described herein should beconsidered in a descriptive sense only and not for purposes oflimitation. Descriptions of features or aspects within each exampleshould typically be considered as available for other similar featuresor aspects in other examples.

While one or more examples have been described with reference to thefigures, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the artthat various changes in form and details may be made therein withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope as defined by the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of executing an application in awearable device, comprising: receiving an input requesting execution ofa first application; acquiring information of time duration required tolaunch the first application from the execution in response to theinput; and scrolling and displaying a predetermined image in a firstdirection based on the information of time duration until the launchingof the first application.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the inputrequesting execution of the first application includes a drag input inthe first direction.
 3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:providing an application list including identification information of atleast one application; and selecting the first application from theapplication list based on a drag input in a second direction, saidsecond direction being different from the first direction.
 4. The methodof claim 3, wherein providing the application list comprises changing anarrangement order of the identification information of the at least oneapplication included in the application list based on a received input.5. The method of claim 1, wherein scrolling and displaying of thepredetermined image in the first direction comprises displaying anexecution window of the first application next to the predeterminedimage based on the information of time duration.
 6. The method of claim3, further comprising: receiving an application switch input whiledisplaying the execution window of the first application; selecting asecond application adjacent to the identification information of thefirst application and being executed from the application list based onthe application switch input; and displaying an execution window of thesecond application.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein acquiring theinformation of time duration comprises acquiring the information of timeduration based on at least one of the performance of the wearabledevice, a load of the wearable device, and a load of the firstapplication.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein scrolling and displayingof the predetermined image in the first direction comprises adjusting ascroll speed in the first direction based on the information of timeduration when a length of the predetermined image is pre-defined.
 9. Themethod of claim 5, further comprising: receiving a drag input in a thirddirection that is different from the first direction while displayingthe execution window of the first application; and displaying a previousimage displayed before completing the launching of the first applicationbased on the drag input in the third direction.
 10. A non-transitorycomputer-readable medium having recorded thereon a computer-readableprogram for performing the method of claim
 1. 11. A wearable devicecomprising: an interface configured to receive an input requestingexecution of a first application; a controller configured to acquireinformation of time duration required to launch the first applicationfrom the execution in response to the input; and a display configured toscroll and display a predetermined image in a first direction until theexecution of the first application based on the information of timeduration.
 12. The wearable device of claim 11, wherein the inputrequesting execution of the first application includes a drag input inthe first direction.
 13. The wearable device of claim 12, wherein theinterface is configured to receive a drag input in a second direction,said second direction being different from the first direction, thecontroller is configured to provide an application list includingidentification information of at least one application and to select thefirst application from the application list based on the drag input inthe second direction, and the display is configured to displayidentification information of the first application.
 14. The wearabledevice of claim 13, wherein the controller is configured to change anarrangement order of the identification information of the at least oneapplication included in the application list based on a received input.15. The wearable device of claim 11, wherein the display is configuredto display an execution window of the first application next to thepredetermined image based on the information of time duration.
 16. Thewearable device of claim 13, wherein the interface is configured toreceive an application switch input while the device is displaying theexecution window of the first application, the controller is configuredto select a second application adjacent to the identificationinformation of the first application and being executed from theapplication list based on the application switch input, and the displayis configured to display an execution window of the second application.17. The wearable device of claim 11, wherein the controller isconfigured to acquire the information of time duration based on at leastone of the performance of the wearable device, a load of the wearabledevice, and a load of the first application.
 18. The wearable device ofclaim 11, wherein the controller is configured to adjust a scroll speedin the first direction based on the information of time duration when alength of the predetermined image is pre-defined.
 19. The wearabledevice of claim 15, wherein the interface is configured to receive adrag input in a third direction, said third direction being differentfrom the first direction while the display displays the execution windowof the first application, and the display is configured to display aprevious image displayed before completing the launching of the firstapplication based on the drag input in the third direction.